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‘I miss Hector Logrono and now feel the burden of his absence’
By Consuelo Almonte The year was 2012. I just retired from the Pakistan Mission to the United Nations where I served for 43 years. My last position was Press Assistant to the Press Minister. At Loida Nicolas Lewis’s residence in November, I was invited to a dinner for Eric Lachica who was to speak about […]
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‘My son is not the bride!’ Film explores interracial, gay couple’s ‘pamanhikan’
The short film entitled, “Pamanhikan,” is a story of an interracial, gay couple’s parents’ first meeting over brunch to discuss their wedding. ‘Pamanhikan’ is the Philippine tradition where the parents of the bride and the groom meet formally to acknowledge their approval of the marriage. Writer-director Angelo Santos called this film a “witty and touching […]
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At Jersey City picnic, FilAms’ last fling before the end of summer
By Cristina DC Pastor Imagine a Filipino party with trays upon trays of food, where the women are busy cutting, serving, tossing, fanning, and stirring the food, while the men are gathered around a fire pit. Transport this scene to Jersey City, a community with a large Filipino American population of more than 15K, and […]
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The Simbang Gabi is back!
The announcement was made by the Philippine Consulate in a statement issued September 10th. On September 16th there will be a community meeting to finalize the details of reviving the Filipino tradition of attending nine consecutive evening masses leading up to Christmas. In a statement the consulate said the Simbang Gabi will be held at […]
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Maria Ressa to host TOFA-NY as De Blasio calls FilAms ‘invaluable’ to city
By Cristina DC Pastor Journalist and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa will host the fourth The Outstanding Filipino Americans in New York (TOFA-NY), as Mayor Bill de Blasio offered his congratulations to the annual event celebrating Filipino American History Month. TOFA-NY is an independent search for exemplary FilAms in the New York metropolitan area. Voting is […]
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Being ‘tisay’ and feeling very conspicuous in the Philippines (Part 2)
By Lara Stapleton UST is where the incident took place. M. Evelina Galang, Amalia Bueno, Fidelito Cortes and I read, with Zack Linmark moderating. There was a tremendous turnout, with what looked like a hundred and fifty students, and a lovely reception afterwards. As Fidelito was reading, I caught from the corner of my eye, […]
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Balikbayan, murky, post-modern (Part 1)
By Lara Stapleton My grandparents had come to visit us before my family left to spend a year in the Philippines in the late ‘70s, when I was 10 years old. As pasalubong (I didn’t yet know the word), they brought two small clay models of what I suppose to be pre-Hispanic stoves. These objects […]
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Jersey dad creates ‘Phil the Fil-Am’ cartoon to help teach his kids Tagalog
A South Jersey father of four who wants his children to learn Philippine culture is creating a language-focused animation inspired by “Dora the Explorer.” David Asis is doing a pilot of “Phil the Fil-Am” in the hope of teaching his children – son Michael, who is 4 years old, and triplet daughters Gabriella, Kayla and […]
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NaFFAA has new leadership, lawyer J.T. Mallonga is national chairman
By Jon Melegrito The National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) elected a new national leadership at the conclusion of its ‘empowerment conference’ held in San Diego August 7 to 10. Voted National Chairman was New York lawyer J.T. Mallonga, with Emraida Kiram of Madison, Wisc. as vice chair; Mariella Fletcher of Seattle, Wash. as […]